(a) When a vacancy occurs in an elected office of the state or
county, it shall be filled according to the processes set forth in
this article. As used in this article, unless otherwise indicated
by the context:

(1) "General cutoff date" means the eighty-fourth day before
the general election that immediately precedes the general election
where the office would be on the ballot for election if there were
not a vacancy; and

(2) "Primary cutoff date" means the eighty-fourth day before
the primary election that immediately precedes the general cutoff
date.

(b) When this article requires an appointment to fill a
vacancy in an elected office, the appointment shall be made within
thirty days of the vacancy, unless this code specifically states a
different time period for the specific office. The term that the
appointee holds the office shall depend on when the vacancy occurs,
as follows:

(1) If the vacancy occurs after the primary cutoff date, then
that appointee shall hold the office until the end of the term of
office: Provided, That if the vacancy for any county office or
United States Senate occurs during the window after the primary
cutoff date, but before the general cutoff date, the process
contained in sections four, six, seven and eight of this article,
depending on the specific office vacated, shall be followed; or

(2) If the vacancy occurs on or before the primary cutoff
date, then the office shall be filled at the following regular
primary and subsequent general election pursuant to this article
and the appointee shall hold the office until a qualified
replacement is elected and certified at that general election. The
elected replacement shall hold the office until the end of the
original term of office.

(c) If an election is required to fill the vacancy by
subsection (b) of this section and the other provisions of this
article, the election shall proceed depending on when the vacancy
occurs and in which office it occurs. Elections to fill vacancies
shall be held at the same places, and superintended, conducted and
returned, and the result ascertained, certified and declared, in
the same manner, and by the same officers, as in general elections,
unless otherwise stated in this article.

(1) For a vacancy in the Office of Governor, the times for the
special elections contained in section two of this article shall
control. The proclamation entered pursuant to section two of this
article by the person acting as Governor shall include the dates
for the special candidate filing period, if necessary, and shall
follow the requirements set forth in this section. All aspects of
this section, where not in conflict with section two of this
article, shall also be followed. If a regularly scheduled primary
or general election fits within the times for the special elections
contained in section two of this article, the special elections shall be conducted in conjunction with the regularly scheduled
election or elections. If a special election is required by
section two of this article and it cannot be held in conjunction
with the regular election dates, then the compensation of election
officers shall be reimbursed pursuant to section nine of this
article.

(2) For a vacancy in the offices of United States House of
Representatives or United States Senate, the times for the special
election, if necessary, contained in section four of this article
shall control. All aspects of this section, where not in conflict
with section four of this article, shall also be followed.

(A) With regard to United States House of Representatives, the
proclamation entered pursuant to section four of this article by
the Governor shall include the dates for the special candidate
filing period, if necessary, and shall follow the requirements set
forth in this section. If a regularly scheduled primary or general
election fits within the times for the special elections contained
in section four of this article, the special elections shall be
conducted in conjunction with the regularly scheduled election or
elections. If a special election is required by section two of
this article and it cannot be held in conjunction with the regular
election dates, then the compensation of election officers shall be
reimbursed pursuant to section nine of this article.

(B) With regard to United States Senate, if a special general
election following the regular general election is required by section four of this article, and it cannot be held in conjunction
with the regular election dates, then the compensation of election
officers shall be reimbursed pursuant to section nine of this
article.

(3) For all other offices, the Governor, or other person
granted authority by this article, shall issue a proclamation
stating that the office will appear on the next regular primary
election and subsequent general election, in order to fill the
vacancy: Provided, That if the vacancy for any county office occurs
during the window after the primary cutoff date, but before the
general cutoff date, the process contained in sections six, seven
and eight of this article shall be followed. If the candidate
filing period for the next regular primary election has closed or
has less than one week remaining, the proclamation shall provide
for a special primary candidate filing period. If there are less
than eighty-four days between the vacancy and the next regular
primary election, then the proclamation shall state that the office
will appear on the subsequent regular primary election and
corresponding general election following the next regular primary
election.

(d) (1) If a special candidate filing period is necessary, it
shall begin no sooner than the day after the proclamation and shall
close no earlier than close of business on the fourteenth day
following the proclamation. A notarized declaration of candidacy
and filing fee provided by section seven, article five of this chapter shall be filed either in person, by United States mail,
electronic means or any other means authorized by the Secretary of
State and received by the appropriate office before the close of
the filing period. For petition in lieu of payment of filing fees,
a candidate seeking nomination for the vacancy may utilize the
process set forth in section eight-a, article five of this chapter:
Provided, That the minimum number of signatures required is
equivalent to one qualified signature per one whole dollar of the
filing fee for that office.

(2) If a primary election is required by the provisions of
this article:

(A) For all statewide, multicounty and legislative elections,
drawing for the primary election ballot position will take place at
the Secretary of State's office twenty-four hours after the end of
the filing period. For each major political party on the ballot,
a single drawing by lot shall determine the candidate ballot
position for ballots statewide. This drawing shall be witnessed by
four clerks of the county commission chosen by the West Virginia
Association of County Clerks, with no more than two clerks
representing a single political party.

(B) For county elections, drawing for the primary election
ballot position will take place at the county clerk's office
twenty-four hours after the end of the filing period. For each
major political party on the ballot, a single drawing by lot shall
determine the candidate ballot position for ballots statewide. This drawing shall be witnessed by the chairperson of the county
democratic and republican executive committees or their designee,
and the president of the county commission or his or her designee.

(3) Ballot position for a general election required by this
article shall be determined pursuant to subdivision (3), subsection
(c), section two, article six of this chapter. If a general
election required by this article occurs in conjunction with a
regularly scheduled primary election, the general election shall be
listed along with the nonpartisan portion of each ballot in the
order of offices provided for regular ballots in this chapter.

(e) When an election is required to fill a vacancy, the date
of the election and offices to be elected, as well as any other
information required in the proclamation, shall be published prior
to such election as a Class I-O legal advertisement in compliance
with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this
code, and the publication area for such publication shall be each
county of the state that is eligible to vote in the election for
those offices.

(f) If an election is required by this article, citizens
having no party organization or affiliation may nominate candidates
as provided by sections twenty-three and twenty-four, article five
of this chapter: Provided, That when an election is required by the
provisions of this article to be held at some time other than with
a regularly scheduled election, all certificates nominating
candidates shall be filed with the appropriate official no later than ninety days before the election.

(g) The persons elected, having first duly qualified, shall
enter upon the duties of their respective offices. The elected
replacement shall hold the office until the end of the original
term of office.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2014 1st Special Session
The WV Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.